Alcatraz and Botanic Garden

Day 285 – San Francisco, USA

Famous Alcatraz, the prison island, supposedly the most secure -until the breakout of 1962-, and subject of quite a few movies.

It’s mostly for the movies that I went there, and because it’s one of the things to do in San Francisco, because otherwise, visiting a former prison that’s not really part of my history…

The ferry to get there is quick, and I was fortunate to have a bright day, so I spent the trip on the top outside deck.

Alcatraz – Dock

Once on the island, visitor are greeted by a ranger -the island is part of the National Park system- then left to our own devices. The way is clearly marked, with signs and fences when an area is closed to the public.

The visit is mostly done with an audio guide that indicate very clearly which way to go, and makes the visit rich in details and interesting. They also called on former inmates and guards to add snippets in their own voice of their memories of their time here. We could also talk at the end with a former guard, more then retired now, about his work in Alcatraz.

Alcatraz – Cells – Row B (left side)

Between the audio guide, the different voices, the picture panels, and the refurbishing of some of the cells, the retelling of events -a riot, the successful breakout, etc- are vivid and easy to follow. I didn’t expect to enjoy it quite that much!

The view of the city is also quite good, and it is nice to see the many birds nesting on the island in the protected areas!

Alcatraz – Protected nesting site

I concluded my visit with a picnic on the dock before taking a ferry back to the city. You buy a ticket with a specific ferry time to go in, but you can take any ferry back, leaving you all the time you want for the visit. The pictures are here.

This is my swirl bread, a mix of dark and light bread! And I’ve acquired reusable sandwich wraps to cut down on my plastic use -blame my visit to the aquarium for that.

Since I had most of the afternoon left, I went to the Golden Gate Park with the intent to visit the California Academy of Sciences, but I passed the Botanic Garden on the way and decided that the nice weather would be much more appreciated in the Garden than in a museum.

So I went to see magnolias in bloom, a few rhododendrons -but it was the end- and camellias, and their groves of redwood and other exotic trees.

Their small tropical forest, cloud forest, Chilean forest, etc, was a bit lost on me, since I had been in the real thing in the previous months. The redwood was very small, and I hope to see much better when I’ll be in the Northern Pacific region -Seattle and Vancouver.

Still, it was enjoyable.

Botanic Garden

A few more pictures here.